


On Vacant Thrones

by loosingletters



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dubious Consent, Manipulation, Seduction, Sex for Favors, The League of Assassins (DCU), Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:15:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23719573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loosingletters/pseuds/loosingletters
Summary: Empires are built on vacant thrones, and if the ruler in question is still alive, you do your best to ensure you’re next in line.Bruce knows what desire looks like and it doesn't take much to realize that if he played his cards right, Ra's al Ghul will give him the world.
Relationships: Ra's al Ghul/Bruce Wayne, Talia al Ghul & Bruce Wayne
Comments: 9
Kudos: 151





	On Vacant Thrones

**Author's Note:**

> You ever just look at Ra's obsession with Bruce and think "why didn't he just date Bruce himself?"  
> No?  
> Well, I did and then this happened so cheers.

From the first moment on Ra’s knew that Bruce Wayne was special. Many people came to the League asking for training. Either they were too stupid, thinking themselves to be above the common folk and deserving of the League’s secrets, or they were too cowardice. Ra’s appreciated it when people knew their place in society, but that didn’t mean he wanted beggars with no backbone kissing his feet.

Bruce Wayne was neither.

Yes, he marched into their compound demanding training, but he had done so dragging one of Nyssa’s pet projects behind him. His daughter had sent one of her assets to initiate a Master in India into the fold of the League or, if he refused, to dispose of him.

“I demand retribution,” Bruce had said, though Ra’s hadn’t known his name then. “She killed my teacher and I haven’t finished my training.”

“And why shouldn’t I kill you on the spot?” Ra’s had asked him, interest already having captivated him.

None of his own would even just think to speak to him as openly or daring as the man in front of him. It had been so very refreshing. Those storm blue eyes staring up at him with determination while below him one of Nyssa’s priced fighters was covering in fear.

“You already would have killed me if you really wanted to.”

Ra’s had stood up from his throne and marched over to the intruder. Bruce hadn’t moved, not even when Ra’s had put his hand on his chin to tilt his head upwards.

“You claim she killed your Master, yet you managed to capture her. How did you do it?”

“Luck. Patience. I’m good at waiting.”

You didn’t manage to take down an assassin without killing them by sheer luck. Bruce had been so very skilled already when he came to the League. With Ra’s guiding hands he’d learn how to do so much more.

“What is your name?”

“Bruce Wayne.”

X

Bruce hadn’t planned further than actually arriving at the gates of the League of Shadows. His previous teacher had talked about them in hushed whispers, never more than what the wind could carry safely outside of his house. Bruce had known they were dangerous, that if so desired, he’d die on the spot. His unwilling companion had assured him of that fact multiple times on their track to the mountains. It had made Bruce wish he had given her a higher dosage of sedatives. Her chatter had been more annoying than threatening.

After all her words about the League’s greatness, Bruce was equally impressed and disappointed by its leader. He could tell Ra’s was powerful and that he was able to end Bruce’s life with a snap of his fingers. Yet the sheer amount of blind arrogance the man displayed almost made Bruce reach for his dagger instead. He’d be dead if the shadows surrounding them noticed, but he was close enough still to damage the Demon’s Head before they could spill Bruce’s blood.

 _Interesting_.

X

A fellow student brought Bruce to their living quarters. Up to ten shared once space and Bruce felt inclined to sleep with his dagger beneath his pillow. His belongings were few and he didn’t feel like giving those up soon.

His introduction to the League and its ways wasn’t a kind or gentle one. He was woken up roughly by another student in the morning and all of them ran to their first lesson. Bruce had gotten used to pain the past years, but that still didn’t compare to the rough regime they stuck to here.

He’d gotten so far already though. He couldn’t give up now. He wouldn’t.

X

Sometimes he caught Ra’s watching them – or maybe just watching him. Bruce couldn’t even pretend he wouldn’t put on a show then. Depending on his mood, he’d toy with his opponents, drag out their battle to signify how much better he was. At other times, he’d defeat them as quickly as possible, drag them to the ground with his blade at their neck. With time, training became less about learning new moves and more about keeping himself in shape, playing the most dangerous game he’d ever participated in.

And Ra’s al Ghul was there, observing.

The students all whispered about it. A visit from the Master once in a while wasn’t untypical, but the amount of times Ra’s watched them from his balcony above was almost comedically. And once the others noticed that he spent most of his time studying Bruce, they began to shot him angry glares. Bruce learned to keep his belongings close, sleep next to the entrances of a room.

A week later Ra’s gave Bruce his own room in the main compound and an entirely new set of teachers.

X

Bruce met Talia al Ghul once before Ra’s formally introduced him to his youngest daughter. He had just moved into his new rooms, they were just a short walk away from Ra’s own. The sun hadn’t risen yet and Talia had invited herself into his rooms over the balcony.

“You should leave,” she said, the last remains of childhood still clinging to her frame.

At fourteen, Talia didn’t look a lot like her father, but then again neither of Ra’s’ children did.

“You still can, you should find the nearest exit and run as far as you can before Father catches you and decides to keep you.”

She was dressed for war in her comfortable sleep clothes. Bruce didn’t pretend he couldn’t spot at least four knives on her person.

“I’m right where I want to be,” he told her instead.

“Then you’re a fool.”

Bruce snorted in amusement and maybe Talia wasn’t all that far off with her assessment.

“I think ‘ _desperate_ ’ fits the bill better. Bruce Wayne, at your service. May I know your name as well?”

Talia crossed her arms in front of her chest and stood as straight as she could. “You already do.”

“It’s still polite to introduce yourself to your allies.”

For a moment, Talia’s eyes widened, then she quickly closed off her expression again and left his rooms as quickly as she had entered them, much more silent than even Bruce could, except for her last step on the balcony’s railing. Her right ankle was injured, Bruce realized.

When he officially met her again for the first time a few hours later, she still wasn’t walking correctly, even though she was doing her best to cover it up. Kindness apparently wasn’t even an option here for already haunted children.

X

Bruce learned from the best of the best. He shared most of his teachers with Talia, being tutored in various martial arts as well as swordsmanship, archery, poison craft and refilery – the later to his distaste.

“You dislike guns.”

There was only a single teacher Bruce didn’t share with Talia. Madame Maria was a woman well into her forties, though Bruce had only been able to get a closer look at her age the one time he had seen her without make-up. She spent even less time at the main compound than the other Masters, since Ra’s only had this one spymaster for all of Europe.

“Is it because of what happened to your parents?” Madame Maria asked, carefully setting her cup of tea on the table.

She had nearly thrown him out of her lesson the first time he had shown up. Bruce’s training involved assassination, guerilla war tactics and weaponry. Nowadays, it was an open secret that Ra’s was grooming Bruce to be his right hand. His place most definitely wasn’t supposed to be among Madame Maria’s carefully chosen prostitutes. Pretty young women and men she had picked up from the streets to teach them the most subtle art of information gathering.

“Yes,” Bruce answered honestly. “I hate them.”

“Hate is a strong word.”

Bruce had disagreed with her. Seduction was a weapon like everything else, and he had wanted to know how to use it.

“But perhaps you’re not wrong to use it. Guns are a coward’s weapon, Bruce. You don’t have to be close to anyone to use a gun. Use your wit, your skills and a knife if you must – but never a gun. Seduction is silence. It is all about presentation, knowing what your opposite wants and suggesting them you fulfill these requirements and more. You could be the ugliest person alive, but if you know how to personify what someone desires, you can get them.”

X

Ra’s invited him up to his quarters once more for tea and chess.

“Our time is a terrible one to be living in,” Ra’s said.

He moved his pawn forward, inviting Bruce to snatch it away. It would be an obvious move, but not a terrible one.

Bruce, who had been taught how to play chess by a mortician turned pretty housewife and a special agent turned butler, wouldn’t ignore it. But Ra’s al Ghul, blinded by his own strength and power, wouldn’t care for the pawn and so Bruce, his prized possession, didn’t either and moved a knight instead.

Ra’s approved of his choice with the hint of a smile. Bruce lost the match, of course he did, he was playing by the rules of his Master.

He would have won, had he taken out the pawn. Bruce knew it.

Ra’s didn’t.

He put his hands on Bruce’s cheeks, tilting his head upwards so he could look in Bruce’s eyes.

The rope around the Demon Head’s throat tightened and he didn’t even realize it.

X

Two swords clashing in the courtyard. Talia was sloppier than usual, angrier and more passionate. She raised her sword once more to lash out and left her side open. Bruce struck forward with the dull end of the sword, knocking the breath out of her.

Between the two of them, Talia was the better sword fighter. She had been holding one since she had learned how to walk. Bruce was slowly catching up to her, but he doubted he’d ever best her. Her actions today didn’t match up with her skill level.

“Did I do something wrong?” Bruce asked her, jumping away from her retaliation strike in the last possible second.

Talia didn’t reply. The fifteen-year-old just ran towards him again. Bruce ducked and in one swift motion got a hold of her wrist, twisting the sword out of it.

“Seriously, did I-“

“He loved Mother,” Talia interrupted him. “He admired her beauty and her gentleness, the way she’d always see the best in this ugly world.”

Bruce stayed silent, but didn’t dare to drop out of his defensive stance yet.

“You’re nothing like her,” Talia continued. “You’re just like him. You see the worst and you do not hesitate to strike against it. You speak the truth, but you’re not honest. You don’t agree with everything he says, yet he favors you above everybody else. What did you do to make my Father desire you and _why_ would you? There’s nothing here for you in this golden cage, Bruce. You’re better off leaving.”

 _Like mother did and I want to_ , Talia didn’t say but Bruce could hear it. Truth be told, Bruce didn’t know what he’d done to catch Ra’s interest. Why every truth or lie he told the man amused him, why someone who was older than anyone else would show interest in a lost soul from a dammed cesspit like Gotham, why Ra’s picked him above his most loyal generals.

But Bruce did know what he was aiming for.

“I’ll show you Gotham when I’ve finished my training here,” Bruce promised.

Talia scoffed, but the tension didn’t leave her shoulders. “What makes you think you’ll be allowed to leave?”

That was the difference between the two of them. Talia had been raised within the League’s twisted freedom. A princess in her own right who still had to bruise and bleed for her father’s affection. She was given the most expensive gifts to hold in one hand, while she was expected to slit a throat with the other. Bruce had been confined in Gotham, but he had broken out of that city so he could come back to it. The League was a tool, and Bruce would use it.

“I have my ways,” he answered instead.

He didn’t let it bother himself that Talia’s eyes rested on the bruises, the hickeys on his neck.

“I’ll introduce you to Alfred. I think he’s always mourned that there was nobody he could take dress-fitting anymore. When I was younger, I used to promise him I’ll get a sister he then can go shopping with. My mother’s rose gardens will be to your liking.”

Talia seemed much too world-weary for her age. Her brows creased and she eyed Bruce like she pitied him, like she didn’t want to allow herself to hope.

“What makes you think I’ll be allowed to leave?”

Bruce rubbed over his neck. “As I said, I have my ways.”

X

Bruce let Ra’s take him to bed. And for a split second of gentleness, Bruce thought _maybe_. The older man didn’t have to be a means to an end. If Bruce played his cards right, Ra’s would gladly give him the world.

But then sharp nails dig into Bruce‘s hips and he moaned, his forehead resting against Ra’s’ shoulder.

Talia’s mother had been a gentle woman. But her mother was dead, despite Ra’s immortality. Bruce had wondered about it, what he should act like. Be docile and peaceful, a sweet taste of what an ideal future could be like?

Ra’s pulled him close, one hand at his back now while he worked off Bruce’s pants. Bruce linked his arms behind Ra’s’ neck, his chest pressed flush against the other’s.

There was nothing kind about their relationship. Kindness could be indulged for a while, but if it went on for too long it became naivety. Bruce was preparing to lead this man’s every soldier to battle. It wasn’t passiveness Ra’s wanted. It was all about strength and desire.

Bruce kissed Ra’s, then let his hands slowly descend, nails dragging over skin until he found the waistband of his pants.

“ _Fuck me_ ,” he told Ra’s.

Ra’s stopped in his movements, green eyes observing Bruce. He knew what he must look like, sitting in the man’s lap, his pants already halfway down with his legs spread for access. His pale skin was flushed red in arousal and his hair a little messy from Ra’s tugging carefully at it just minutes ago.

“Fuck me,” Bruce repeated. “I want you.”

“As you wish, Beloved.”

Whatever had been holding Ra’s back before, certainly didn’t play much of a role anymore as Ra’s flipped Bruce over. Bruce’s face was pressed in the bed’s soft pillows and with his hands he held onto the sheets. Ra’s left a trail of bite marks and bruises on Bruce’s back, the pain sharp enough that it wouldn’t surprise Bruce if some of the marks were bleeding.

Ra’s’ fingers slipped further down, toying with Bruce’s entrance.

“I do not wish to hurt you, but if we are to continue…”

“You won’t,” Bruce assured him.

He had prepared himself for this after all. All of this was one grand act and Bruce certainly hadn’t given chance any space.

Bruce couldn’t see Ra’s’ expression but soon he felt the man’s first finger press into him easily. He tried his best to relax and not to push against him, yet.

“You presume much.”

Ra’s’ voice was low and dark, but it wasn’t the tone he used to order executions. Hearing Ra’s speak like that, knowing he was driven by lust and desire fostered by Bruce, went straight to his head.

“But I wasn’t wrong. Now, _please_ , Master. Or do you want me to beg?”

“Not yet,” Ra’s said and pressed his second finger in.

Bruce’s breath hitched, but he forced himself to stay calm and collected. He had to prove he could hold his own, stay in control no matter what. He leaned into Ra’s touch, obediently taking another finger while Ra’s praised him.

“You’re so good for me, Bruce. You’ll be my masterpiece. As perfect and flawless as I can craft you.”

Ra’s withdrew his finger- _fingers_ , before he pounded into Bruce with little warning. Bruce couldn’t keep himself from crying out this time, his vision blurry from the sudden – _not unexpected, he had been aiming for this, he had wanted it, this was his goal, just another tool, everything he was working for_ – intrusion. Ra’s leaned forward, leaving feather-light kisses on Bruce’s skin, before he began to suck on it, still rocking into Bruce.

Every time Bruce thought he was getting used to the sensation, Ra’s would push a little further, making Bruce whimper.

“Stop fighting, Beloved. There’s no need to keep silent. Let me hear you sing.”

Bruce choked on his breath, stuttered on his words.

“As you wish.”

X

Bruce observed himself in the mirror. Scratch marks, bruises, bite marks – he looked properly ravished.

Ra’s had called him _Beloved_.

In the privacy of his own room, Bruce allowed himself to laugh, a few misguided sobs escaping in-between. He had done it. He had actually gotten Ra’s invested in him. Now he only needed to keep proving himself, earn every single ounce of trust that could possibly be put in him.

And then he’d take it all. He just had to be patient.

Ra’s a Ghul may be immortal, but Bruce was playing the long game either way.

He was going to win, it was only a question of time.

Bruce just had to endure until then.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> I wrote this a while ago and actually wanted to elaborate, but I figured I never would and this is good the way it is. First time writing anything smut related, I think I did well? Not necessarily a genre I can see myself writing much in the future, but small bits? Hmm, maybe.  
> Other plans included Bruce _persuading_ Ra's into letting him take Talia with him to Gotham. He still builds up the batfam, Talia falls in love with Selina, and Ra's doesn't see it coming when Bruce does end up killing him, the League now firmly under his control.  
> Ta-da, hope you had fun.


End file.
